Again, And Then Again
by YourHotMommy
Summary: [Sorta AU] CEO Emma Swan is going through her life per usual, when a chance encounter quite literally opens her mind to the reality section of her life. VIVA LA SWAN QWEEN! (My first fic :D)
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own OUaT.

* * *

Again, And Then Again.

Oneshot

Popping sounds fill her ears as the young CEO earnestly messages her stiffened neck. She's a little bit more than tired, but 'tired' is not a word Emma Swan's allowed to use; nor is it a word she knows how to utter. With a click on the telecom, like a snap of a finger, her assistant appears in front of her within mere seconds.

"Katy," Emma says, not sharing a glance as she continues to type on the keyboard. "Did you do the thing I told you to do?"

"It's Cassie," the younger blonde corrects, a smile spreading across her face.

After what seems like forever, Emma looks up from behind her crimson reading-glasses for a pathetic moment, then continues typing, undeterred. With a sigh, _she must be new_, she thinks. "The thing I told you to do?" She repeats with a huff of impatient, hot air.

"I'm on it," the assistant says, "it's a bit complicated since the clients refuse to answer my calls. I don't know if I'm supposed to just barge into their offices, or would that be over the top maybe? I mean rich San Franciscans can be very scary sometimes."

_Click _

"Orwen," Emma says, speaking into the telecom, "in my office. Now."

A tall, asian man appears within a few moments. "Boss," he greets with a wrist wave. He glances at the confused younger blonde, and tsks, "Oh, no. What is it with this one?" He asks, knowing full well that hell will break loose if he doesn't intervene immediately. The things he'd rather go through on the expanse of keeping his lady boss happy? Well, lets just say that teaching a monkey how to speak is one of them.

"Katy, repeat to him what you just told me," Emma says.

"It's Cassie," the younger woman says, and Orwen cringes at her.

"Dear lord," the tall man shakes his head, "come with me."

Emma finally looks up, laughing at the handsome man; at her friend, "that's not even the half of it, Oreo. She used the words 'I don't know' and 'it's complicated', and," Emma pauses, holding out a finger, "_and_ she asked me what to do."

* * *

Emma would like to say that Jaime is the prettiest woman she'd ever seen, except she's not. Jamie had been another temporary warmth, who had been conveniently present at a time of need. A day when she'd been somewhat drunk, frustrated, and unbelievably horny.

"I don't do one night stands," the dark-skinned woman had told her on their first encounter, "get off somewhere else." Emma had shaken her head, swaying as she struggled to stay balanced.

There's nothing she can do about it, though. Her libido is just that; hers. It might be inappropriate at times, and quite dangerous at other times, but it is what it is, and Emma is not afraid to sate her desires whenever be needed.

"Hello," Jaime greets, stepping aside and allowing Emma to walk inside the tiny flat where everything merges with everything else; and walls don't offer any privacy. "I haven't seen you in while. What's wrong?"

"You hurt me," Emma runs her fingers through her blonde curls, and tsks as if saying 'fuck you', but in a more civilized manner; if manner at all. "I'm not some bad omen, you lazy butt."

"Sometimes you are, yeah." Jaime closes the door behind her, and saunters to where Emma is sitting on the sofa. "And I might be lazy, I'll at least admit to that. But," she yanks at Emma's grey tailored-jacket, bringing her face a few inches within the blonde's, "but _never_..do you hear me? NEVER a lazy butt!"

Emma smirks,_ so that's what attracted me to her. _"You want to keep blabbering, or do you want to prove me wrong?"

Jaime bites on her lower lip, seductively leaning down, "I can do both," she husks out.

* * *

"Boss," Orwen greets Emma at the door, "here's your coffee."

Emma smiles at her friend, "did you fire her?"

"Who, Katy?" Orwen jokes, "nah, I didn't. Give her a week, and if she doesn't learn your...'ways' in time, then you do whatever you want with her."

"Like spreading her out on my table and covering her up-"

"-with some whipped cream?"

"I was gonna say a warm blanket, you know? Since it's cold."

Orwen laughs, "you're such a pig sometimes."

"And other times I'm deliciously bacon. I know," Emma pauses mid stride, "which reminds me," she says. "There's something I need you to do."

"What's that?"

She rubs at her nose, "you're not gonna like it."

"You're not asking me to have sex with you again, are you?"

"Do you want to get fired?" She scolds.

"Go ahead and try, you won't last a day without me."

"What the hell are you talking about? Of course I can-can..cannot survive without you. Who else would break up with my ladies for me?"

"No," Orwen immediately says, "we're not breaking up with Jaime. She's awesome, and with your shit personality, we won't be able to do any better."

"Excuse me," Emma says, "but 'we' are not dating Jamie, I am."

"Well I'm glad we got this sorted out. Since 'you' are dating her, then 'you' break up with her."

"...Wait, no. Hold up," Emma calls out for her friend as he continues to scurries away. "Orwen, get back here! OREO!"

* * *

A heavy yawn escapes her lips, shuddering its way to Emma's toes. She goes over the plan in her head, mentally scolding herself for breaking her rules of one night stands. She'd already broken the rules once when she'd picked up Jamie by pretending to be intoxicated, and she's definitely about to break another rule now.

"Arghh," Emma groans out as she walks along the pavement, wishing she'd brought her sunglasses when the sun hit her in the eye. "Why can't break-ups be easier!"

"Hey! Watch where you're going!" Emma hears a man yell. She glances around, and her eyes focus on a heavy woman, screaming her brains out on a petite figure that was lying on the ground. "You think you can do whatever you damn please because you have a pretty face? Let me tell you something about America, fucking latino. We don't need your shit, go back to your country!"

"Maybe you should go back, too," Emma says, crouching down to help the brunette to her feet. "Hell, maybe we should all go back, and leave the native Americans be." Emma keeps her eyes trained on the assaulting figure, watching her carefully. She can handle herself pretty well, but she doesn't know if she can handle another person's fight.

"Mind your own fucking business, bitch!" The bully yells, and Emma shakes her head. She fishes through her coat pocket, and extends a fifty.

"For your trouble," Emma says, smirking when the woman yanks the fifty from her hand, and scurries away. Emma turns to face the brunette for the first time, "you okay?" She asks.

"Thank you," the brunette says softly, trying to sort out the stray strands that fell on her face. She takes off her sunglasses then, "you didn't have to pay her, though."

Emma watches intently as the other woman fixes her hairdo, "I didn't want her to attack me. My suit will get dirty, and it's probably worth more than that woman makes in a whole year."

"Oh," the brunette says, dusting off her skirt where it made contact with the ground. "Well, I'm Regina." She glances up then, "Regina Mills."

Emma freezes in place, mouth agape and eyes bulging out. She takes a few steps back, and collides with another passerby. "You," she chokes out, coughing as she felt her throat become drier by the second.

_It's YOU!_

"Are you okay?" Regina asks, holding out both hands in the air, but not daring to advance any further. "Do you need me to call 911?"

Emma takes a deep, shredded breath, and frantically shakes her head. When Regina finally places her hands on the blonde's shoulder, the blonde continues to stare at the beauty before her as a movie of sequences plays behind her stingy eyes.

_Abandonment._

_Separation._

_Orphan._

_Neal._

_Jail._

_Henry._

_Adoption._

A fit of coughing has Regina rubbing on her back, and Emma closes her eyes. It's hurts too much to keep them open, but as soon as eyelids cover her eyes, she wishes she hadn't closed them. Memories continue to flood her brain in a hurried pace, Emma feels like she's about to vomit blood; and whatever she'd eaten that morning.

_Storybrooke._

_Regina Mills._

_Curse._

_Her family._

_Fairy tale land._

_Cora._

_Greg and Tamara._

_Trigger._

_The trigger._

The trigger she'd tried to stop it alongside Regina. That's it. That's the last thing she remembers from...from her previous life. Regina had been too weak to stop it, and she'd stepped in to help her. But apparently she'd failed. They both had. Or perhaps they'd succeeded; there simply is no way of knowing.

But one thing Emma does know, is that they both had died that day.

Emma pounds over her heart, and she feels the tears trickling down her face. If she wasn't sobbing before, she is now.

"Come," Regina tells her, pulling her away from the pathway. "Lets sit down, and I'll get you some water."

Emma nods, looking up at the brunette as she sat down. "It really is you," she tells Regina, gripping at her wrist.

Regina smiles sheepishly at Emma, "umm..have we met before?" She asks, rubbing the back of her head with her other free hand.

Emma smiles back, "we have." She says, "we've met before, Regina. And now we get to have a clean slate."

"Hmm?" Regina says in confusion, "how do you mean?"

"It's our second chance," Emma tells her, gently pulling Regina down to sit next to her.

* * *

Note: Hiya all! I hope someone reads my story... -3- I realize that it's just a beginning, but I'm not really good a writer, and this is all I can write...I am sowee for my bad writing! But don't you just want for them to meet in a different life, and have a clean slate? Annnyway, please tell me what you think.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own OUaT.

Note: I sort of continued from where it left off. I just changed the ending that suggested that Emma wanted to have a relationship with Regina during their life time at Storybrooke, and I stuck to the show. The next few chapters is them getting to know each other.

Thank you for telling me what you think! :)

* * *

Again, And Then Again.

Chapter 2: Hey, Hi, Hello.

She'd went home that day, battling one of the most irritating headaches to date. But really, how could she have not? One does not stumble upon one's previous life that often; or maybe they do, Emma doesn't know for sure, and at the moment, she doesn't quite care.

What she does care about, is what she will do to handle this…situation. She's a CEO now, for crying out loud, she shouldn't be rolled up in a fatal position under the duvet, weeping like a ten year old. Whether she's crying because she'd died, or because her peaceful life had been disturbed, she also doesn't know. All she knows is that after the initial happiness of recognition, now she feels somehow…empty.

Her cell sounds, and she ignores it again. It's Orwen, and right now, he's the last person she wants to speak with because surely he'll spend a good half hour yelling at her for standing up Jaime. _Oh, God. Jaime! _She'd promised to phone her in the morning, and it's now….

"One…thirty six!" The young CEO stumbles out of bed, practically sprinting to the en-suit bathroom. She splashes water against her face, and continues to rub at the dark circles decorating her eyes. She sighs then, tracing her own face with her shaky fingers.

It feels weird looking at her face. She's Emma Swan, the CEO of her own company. She's almost 30 years old, but to be honest, she's been almost 30 years old for a while now. She's healthy, wealthy, both her parents are alive and well, and they're definitely not Snow White and Prince Charming. She lets out an exasperated sigh, suddenly remembering the joy of having 2 parents who are still present in her life.

She glances at her reflection again, "crap.." she whispers, wiping away her tears. She makes a mental note to phone her parents to patch things up because now that she thinks about it, their falling out in this life time pales in comparison to the fiasco with Snow and James.

* * *

"I brought you some coffee," that tall man taunts with a brown bag, "and your favorite blueberry muffin."

Emma stares at the security cam, crossing her arms over her chest. He's not playing fair, and she's super hungry. She could continue to ignore the world for about…she glances at the wall clock…2 more hours, but then her stomach pushes a button, reminding her of the extend of her hunger.

"Fine," she grits out, buzzing her friend up. "But don't you dare say anything about how I look." She glances around her flat, taking note of all the appliances and technology, wondering if everything worked with a button, then why the hell can't she push a button and go back to being…

She shakes her head, "this is just ridicules…"

"What is?" Orwen asks, closing the door behind him, and taking a seat on the sofa.

Emma follows him to the living room, sitting down next to him, and propping her feet up on his lap. When he gives her a look, she shrugs and snatches the bag from him.

"What is it?" He asks, taking off her slippers. "I've never seen you this-"

"-I said don't say anything about how I look!"

"…I wasn't going to," he says with a defeated sigh, "plus you told me that once we're off work, I get to be your friend again, and right now..the way you ordered me around was kinda…" He raises a brow, and looks pointedly at her.

She blushes, "I'm sorry, Oreo. I really am."

He dismiss the apology with a wave, "we didn't get to this," he slaps her foot, "by hiding things from one another. So talk to me, you know you want to."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"You'll think I'm crazy…"

"I know you're crazy, Em. I don't need any more convincing."

She takes a bite from her her muffin, then extends her hand to drink from the coffee nestled on the table. When she doesn't reach it, and looking like a pathetic fool, Orwen hands it to her easily, then leans back with a grin.

"Honestly," she says with a touch of bitterness, "it's like you're an octopus with your freakishly long legs and arms."

"Ohh, you've fallen for me."

"No, I'm gay."

He rolls his eyes, "I know, you tell me everyday."

She opens her mouth to say something back, but decides against it. Orwen had been the first, and only friend that survived her coming-out days, and to him, she's the one friend he refuses to think about it in a sexual manner. Not even as a joke. She'd found out just how much of a sister she is to him during last year's Christmas party at the office.

"So are you gonna tell me what's going on with you? No matter how much of a bitch you are, they actually do need you at the office."

"Hey!"

"No, really. Every time you miss a day at work, which to begin with is not much, your little minions lose their purpose in life. It's like they know they should be doing something, and they try, but most of them are literally just pacing around the office."

"Argh!" Emma exclaims, "I want to tell you. I do, but you really will think I'm crazy."

Orwen falls quiet for a few minutes, then nods as if he's just decided on a major decision in his life. "Okay," he says, pulling out his wallet and taking out a piece of paper.

"Oh, no.." Emma says.

"Oh, yes," Orwen counters, handing her the piece of paper. "I hate that you're making me use it on this, but I'm just super curious right now, you don't even know."

"I can't tell you," she says shaking her head. "Even with this."

* * *

"That's her?"

"Yep, that's her alright."

"She's gorgeous."

"I know."

"No, she's like drop-dead beautiful."

"I know…"

"And look how her students adore her!"

"I noticed…"

"When I was in elementary school, I hated all my teachers. But look how many students are waving her goodbye…"

"Yeah..I can see that."

"She really is very attractive…"

"I know…"

"Do you really know? Look at her lips!"

"Orwen!" Emma yells, forcing a few passersby to stop and stare. "Walk away," she says, "go to class."

"It's 4 o'clock," a boy sarcastically says.

Emma rolls her eyes, "you're grounded!" She screams at him.

"You're not my mother!" The boy exclaims, running away.

"Dude," Orwen starts, "if that your lover from a past life, then you must have been all over each other all the time."

Emma snorts, "I told you she's not my lover, Oreo. She's the mother of my child."

"And…what is the difference, exactly?" He looks at her with wide eyes, suddenly realizing something. "So wait…she's like your wife or something?"

"What?" Emma shrieks, "Nooo!"

"She's…she's Henry's adoptive mom. Or WAS Henry's adoptive mom."

"Okay," Orwen says, nodding. "Are you going to ask her out then?"

"No," Emma immediately says.

"Well, then. I call dips!" Orwen says, bouncing to his feet, and running over to the brunette figure that has been waiting at the boss stop for the past half an hour.

Emma catches up with him in time, "Hey, hi, hello!" She awkwardly greets the surprised-looking brunette.

"Hello," Regina greets back, just as awkwardly.

When they just stand there, Emma looking like she's about to die of embarrassment, and Regina shyly fidgeting with her hands, Orwen breaks the silence, "so," he says, "Regina, right?" He extends his hand, and Regina accepts the hand shake. "

"Emma tells me you saved her the other day?"

"Oh, no." Regina shakes her head as her smile widens, "actually she was the one who saved me." She looks back at Emma, "thank you for that."

"You already said that, Regina." As soon as the words leave her lips, Emma cringes. Through out the whole day, she'd been getting back flashbacks here and there.

"Well," Regina says, "I'm sure 'thank you' can never be said enough." She glances behind Emma then, "oh," she says, "the bus is here. It was nice meeting you again, Emma. And…Emma's friend." With that, she turns to stand at the edge of the pavement, a line already forming behind her.

"You better asks her now," Orwen says, leaning against Emma. "Or I will."

Emma looks up at him, and glares. "What makes you think I want to date her?"

"I don't know about you," he says, "but I know that I have no objection in dating her."

Emma pushes at him then, "what happened to bros over hoes?"

Orwen laughs, leaning even more against Emma's ear, "look at her, Emma. Do you really think she's a hoe?"

"Go ahead," she tells him nonchalantly, but she can't help the small, weird feeling the erupts inside her guts, twisting and turning like tiny blades.

"Are you sure?" Orwen asks.

Emma shrugs, and gives him one last glare before she walks away.

"Regina!" Orwen calls to her, "wait," he says, getting on the bus as well.

Emma angrily walks back to her car, and starts the engine. She bites on her lower lip, and doesn't stop until she feels the iron taste seeping through her taste buds. Without really putting any thought into it, she drives the bus's direction. She's not necessarily following it, not intentionally anyway, she just wants to see where -the once Evil queen- Regina is living now.

And maybe, just maybe she would get to see Henry again.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own OUaT.

NOTE: Thanks for reading and for reviewing! :D

LOCISU: It wasn't all that different really. Just changed 2 sentences, that's all. xD

Rickmantic: You called it! xD

* * *

Again, And Then Again.

Chapter 3: Bonds and Oreos.

"Hey again," Orwen says, plopping down next to the beautiful, startled brunette. When Orwen sees the look on Regina's face, he lets out an awkward laugh. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. It's just I …well, this is sort of awkward to say."

Regina looks up at him, and smiles sadly, "anything I can help with?"

Orwen shakes his head slowly, trying his best to buy more time. He hadn't thought this through, and since his plan had consisted of asking Regina out on a date, and then setting her up with Emma. Now, he wasn't sure about the straight forward approach. From the way the young woman sitting beside him dressed, he can tell that she might be too conservative to go on a date with a woman. Even though they are in San Francisco.

One last look at Regina's long brown skirt, and blue, wool sweater, and he decides against his plan. "It's just that…well, my..my younger sister."

"What's wrong with her?"

"Well, you see…she's been bullied, and now she refuses to go to school. You look like a nice person, and I was wondering if I could enroll her in your class."

"Oh," Regina says. "Of course. I'm always happy when students want to be in my class." Regina stands up then, "next stop please." She turns to the tall man, "bring her over on Friday. We have a dress-up party, and some of the kids have a few poems to read."

"That's fantastic," Orwen nods, "I will make sure to bring her over then. But…" he trails, "you think you can give me your phone number, she might need a word of encouragement to come to class."

"Sure," Regina immediately says, taking out her phone. But just then, the bus stops, and she motions for Orwen to get out with her.

* * *

Emma parks at 2 blocks away, sighing as she watches Regina and Orwen exit the bus. They exchange a few words, and it looks like they were exchanging phone numbers.

"Come on!" Emma exclaims, "how can he get her phone number in like…what?" She glances at the clock on her radio, "5 fucking minutes!"

Her eyes follow Regina until the woman disappears behind a victorian looking building, and then locks eyes with Orwen. She already knows that he knows she'd been following them. Oreo walks back to her car, doing his victory dance of shoulder shaking and zombie-like hip swaying. Instantly, a smile forms on Emma's face. She remembers that smile all too well.

The first time she'd seen it was when Orwen got his nickname; Oreo. They'd been in college, Emma being 3 years older, and Orwen; this freshman who'd been the most awkward person Emma had seen, walks right past her, eating his Oreos in peace.

"HEY!" The blonde had yelled, "give me that!" She'd said, snatching the tiny Asian's snack away. That day Emma had been on the verge of collapse from hunger, and while she could have walked back to the dorm to fetch her wallet, she didn't want to go through the trouble.

But she wasn't a bully or anything, so naturally, she'd felt bad about it the next day. By the end of the week, and with a pack of Oreo in her pocket, Emma had walked around campus for more than 2 hours looking for the awkward boy. When she'd found him, she had the urge to bully him all over again for making her search for him for that long, but it wasn't worth the trouble of apologizing all over again.

"Hey," she'd said, "thanks about before."

Orwen had jumped back a few steps, "I don't have any more Oreo," he'd exclaimed.

"That's not what I want," Emma had said with a chuckle.

"I don't have any money, too."

"Hey, no, that's not why I'm here."

When she'd said her apology, and walked away after hearing the clock announce noon, she'd forgotten to give him his pack of Oreo. Sprinting back to the tiny boy, Emma had found him dancing his victory dance, muttering to himself how he'd made a new friend. And from that day onward, he'd been her best friend; Oreo.

The fact that she'd started hanging out with him out of sympathy, she will never let him know.

"Look what I got," Orwen taunts, sliding inside the passenger seat. "That's right, it's Regina's phone number."

"That's good, buddy. Think you can stop implying that I like Regina, cause I sure as hell don't like her." She starts driving back to her apartment.

"Okay," Orwen says, "if you say so, boss. At least now I know you won't have a problem with me taking Friday off to go on my hot date."

Emma snorts, "that's not happening. Work comes first."

"Coming from the woman who skipped on work for 2 days straight."

"Plus," Emma says with a glare, "unless I ask you to, you get off work at 4. What kind of hot date starts before…7 or 8?"

Orwen stills then. Suddenly he remembers that he has a date with the beautiful Regina, and his quite imaginary, and nonexistent sister. It's not really a date, to be honest, more like a meeting to decide whether he wants to set Emma up or not.

"Emma," Orwen suddenly says, his voice all serious. "Do you, by any chance, know any young girls I could use?"

"WHAT THE FUCK?" Emma exclaims, stepping on the breaks.

* * *

"Boss!" Cassie exclaims, "I'm so glad you're here." The younger blonde goes in for a hug, but Emma hisses like a snake that's been dumped on fire. Cassie steps back, a blush forming on her face, but only briefly. "Here you go," she says, handing her boss a cup of coffee. The fact she made fresh coffee every half an hour so the older woman wouldn't be disappointed, Cassie doesn't mention.

"Any messages?" Emma ask, flopping down on her leather chair with a heavy sigh.

Cassie nods, "of course," she says, and Emma gives her a glare that could pierce through steel if needed be. "I mean, of course everyone misses you, so naturally you would have messages."

After a few moments of glaring, Emma lowers her gaze, "you're not making it any better," she says, but dismissing the retort, coming from Cassie, with a wave of hand. "Save it," she says, "just fill me in on what I've missed, and go stand by your desk."

"…Yes, boss."

It's very late into the night when Emma feels she'd done progress. Should she continue with the same pace tomorrow as well, she would be all caught up in 3 days.

She glances up, watching as Orwen makes his way to her office. It's almost midnight, and usually when it's almost midnight, her friend never once let her go home alone. Something about the dangers of the night.

"What's wrong with Cassie?" Orwen asks, sitting down on the chair opposite from Emma.

"Who?"

"Your assistant?"

"Katy? What's wrong with her?"

"She looks about ready to faint."

"Why? She should be home by now…" Emma says with a frown, getting up on her feet, and walking over to the her door. She opens the wooden door, and peeks her head out, seeing the younger blonde standing next to her desk. "What the hell are you doing!?" She immediately yells, and Orwen follows her outside.

"Boss," Cassie crocks out, "you said to stand-"

"-Sit down!" Emma orders, feeling a pile of guilt rumble inside her guts. She had no idea the younger woman would take her words literally, when she'd just meant it as a joke. But by the looks of it, her assistant had in fact followed Emma's order, and had been standing since…

"Wait…Have you been standing since 10 this morning?" Emma says, holding onto Cassie's forearms, and helping her to sit down.

"I…I'm sorry, boss. I sat down a few hours ago..but it was just for a few minutes!"

The young CEO looks at Orwen with horror in her face, and gulps down the bitterness she feels in her throat. She turns to face Cassie, "here, sit down."

"Slowly," Orwen says, pushing Emma out of the way, and taking hold of the younger woman himself. "Your body must be so stiff, you have to be very careful so you don't hurt yourself, okay?"

Cassie nods, "o-okay," she says.

"That wasn't cool," Orwen says, driving Emma back to her flat. "She could have had some serious injuries!"

"I know…"

"She can sue your sorry ass!"

_No she can't, _"I know…"

"Do you really know?" Orwen yells, "because you sure as hell don't look like you know..hell, you don't even act like you know."

"…What do you want me to say? I screwed up, okay? Just let it go."

"I won't let it go, Em. Something's seriously wrong with you, and I know for a fact if Cassie had been one of your fuck buddies, you wouldn't have treated her that way. She's a human being, and the least you could do, is treat as one."

"…I do!"

"No you don't. You don't even know her name."

"Fine!" Emma says, "from tomorrow, I will start calling her Cassie."

Orwen side glances at her, then tsks, shaking his head. He drives the rest of the way to Emma's flat in silence. Once right in front of her place, he turns off the engine, and exists the car. He walks to Emma's side, and opens the door for her. "Go in," he tells her.

"You're not coming inside?"

He shakes his head, "no. I'll walk home."

Emma nods, tearing up but not allowing her friend to see. It's the first time he took her home late at night, and didn't spend the night. Orwen watches as Emma disappears inside, then walks away.

He takes off his phone once he reaches his own flat, and types down a txt. "Regina, it's Orwen. I won't be able to make it on Friday, but I will send someone in my place. Please take care of my sister! :)"

He searches through his contacts next, and dials a number, "Aunt Liz, hey, it's Orwen. How old is your daughter again?"

* * *

NOTE: Don't worry~ Next chapter will have more Emma-Regina interactions. ;)


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own OUaT.

Again, And Then Again.

Chapter 4: Sheriff And Mayor.

"Remember, Molly, you're my sister, kay?" Orwen crouches down to his cousin's eye level, and repeats himself for the millionth time that morning. "You got bullied at school, and so you stayed home because you were afraid that it might happen again."

"Uncle Orwen, I'm ten. I'm not an idiot, I understand. Just don't forget to get me what I asked for..."

"A Nintendo DS, baby pink, and a Pokemon case. I remember."

"Wo-hoo," Molly exclaims, jumping up and down in joy. Her frilly, princess dress flying along with her.

"Emma you ready?" Orwen shouts, peeking his head inside the open door. "I have to go back to the office. Somebody needs to be there!"

When Emma finally walks outside, she's wearing skinny, black jeans, a navy button-down shirt, and a blue leather jacket. It's odd, it's new, and it's completely out of character, but it suits her so well, Orwen wonders why she never tried to dress up like a lesbian butch before; not that she is one, of course.

"Someone's making an effort," he mumbles under his breath, and Molly huffs out in impatience. "Do I even want to know?"

"You don't," Emma tells him. "But it has something to do with a sheriff going to see her mayor...a mayor!"

Orwen smirks, but he doesn't press any further. He really does need to go back to the company to manage Emma's seat while she's gone. "Alright," he says, "off you go. Will see you in a few hours." He gets inside his car, and drives away.

* * *

Emma realizes right away that she'd arrived a bit too early. Not only that, but the child she has on hand right now is about 3-4 years older than the kids in Regina's class, and that's quite the problem because now they don't have a good excuse to stick around.

The brunette is too distracted to notice the blonde coming in; she's rearranging the seats, and dusting off the desks. When Emma clears her throat, Regina's head snap back, and she adorns a rather shy smile.

"Hey," Emma says. "Hi," she adds for good measure.

"Hello," Regina greets back.

"Bonjour!" Lilly chimes in with a bit of sass that Emma knows Molly is too young to be sprouting.

Regina glances around the tiny, but colorful classroom, feeling a bit self conscious, but her eyes roam and roam, then settle on Emma's leather jacket. "Nice jacket," she tells her.

"Really!?" Emma asks, abashed. "I mean, really...?" She repeats but in a more appropriate tone.

Regina simply nods, "I could never pull off a look like that."

"Maybe not," Emma starts, "but you can totally pull off a sexy mayor look. Full on with pencil skirts, and fuuu...n heels." Emma barely catches herself before swearing in front of a child, and in front of this new version of Regina; a new innocent version.

"Umm, well..." Regina stammers awkwardly. "I guess," she says disbelievingly. "I don't know about being mayor, though. I'm not cut for leading, or for politics for that matter."

Emma snorts, and Regina visibly shrinks down."No, wait. I wasn't making fun of you.." Emma says, trying to amend and watching Regina's face change from confusion to utter confusion. Okay, maybe she was making fun of her, but really, it's Regina. To Emma, Regina will always be the sexy mayor slash evil queen that could most definitely lead and play politics like a chess game.

Regina smiles a smile that doesn't quite reach her ears, a prominent vein popping out on her forehead. "Would you like to sit down?"

Emma nods, and moves to sit on a tiny chair that doesn't look like it could withstand her weight. Just as she's about to lower herself, a shriek sends her standing up so fast she could win an olympic trophy out of it.

"That's Amanda's chair!"

"Honey," Regina says in a disapproving voice. "Remember what we said about sharing?"

"But Ms, that's Amanda's chair. What is she gonna do if she comes and she doesn't find her chair?" He looks about ready to start crying, and Emma backs away from the chair as far away as she could, her body colliding with Molly's, and they both yelp in surprise.

"Hey!" Molly says, "watch it!"

"Hey now," Emma says warningly, and she raises her brow to be stern. When she sees Molly raising a brow as well, accepting the challenge, Emma backs down. She doesn't want to blow her cover, and if her past experiences with mayor Regina taught her anything, then for sure the brunette wouldn't like this.

"I'm sorry, Emma," Regina says after she had a private conversation with the little boy; Brandi. He's wearing a cowboy hat, and two fake guns in his pocket.

"It's alright," Emma says, standing by the door. She realizes that two life times are not nearly enough to help her on how to train dragons; or how to raise children. It's nearly the same thing, Emma concludes, laughing at her own joke.

Regina takes note on the numbers. There's only about five children present, and about an hour left till the start of the poem reading. She motions for Emma that would be right back, and when she does come back, an assistant takes her place.

"Thank you, mrs Farrow." Regina says, crouching down next to Molly. "Hello," she says, "I'm ms Regina Mills, and you are?"

Molly blushes. She hadn't expected Regina to be such a beauty, and such a nice person at that. She might just want to be in her class, even though she's clearly older than these kids. "I'm Molly, and Uncle Orwen...I mean my brother Orwen said you were very nice."

Regina smiles, and if she notices Molly's tongue-slip, she doesn't show it. "Thank you, Molly. Would you like to have a seat, and color something?"

"I'm ten," Molly says. "I don't like to color. Do you have any video games?"

"Oh," Regina exclaims, "you don't like to color. Well, that's a shame. I like to color, and I'm twice your age and a half."

"You're 25!?" Emma asks suddenly.

Regina quirks a brow at Emma in amusement, then addresses Molly once more. "I have twilight coloring books if you're interested?"

"You do!?" Molly says. "Okay, but I'm not coloring Bella, I don't like her."

"Why not?" Emma asks.

Molly stares at Emma, mouth agape. "Do you like her?"

"Not exactly," Emma replies. "But I want to know why you hate her so much?"

"Well, I just don't like her face."

Emma laughs, "well, I guess I have people that I don't like their faces, too."

Regina just shakes her head, and settles Molly in her seat. She turns to Emma then, and in silent agreement, they both walk outside the classroom, and out the back door to the backyard. A few children are playing with swings, and Regina asks them to head inside since the party will start in a few.

"So," Emma starts, fidgeting in place and looking up at Regina. The brunette looks super young with her smooth and flawless skin. Her hair looks even more vibrant, reaching her shoulders, and she's wearing normal everyday clothes; blue jeans and a white t-shirt and red Toms, but she's surprisingly rocking the look, and Emma finds herself jealous. She knew Regina is definitely younger, but twenty fucking five?

_Fuck! I'm almost ten years older!_

"So," Regina echoes. "I think Orwen's cousin...or sister... is too old to be in my class. I could still speak with her about the bullying, if you want me, though." She smiles, sitting down on the bench that's looking out to the school building. Through the large, glass window she can see a few kids chattering in their costumes.

Emma sits down next to her, "you figured it out, didn't you?"

Regina chuckles, "figured out what?"

"Very funny, you know what I mean. Orwen was just making an excuse, and you know it."

"I didn't know, you just told me." When a horrific expression passes on Emma's face, Regina chuckles. "Okay, maybe I had some doubts about Orwen's motives, but I still when he sent me the text message saying someone else who be stopping by, I knew he wasn't interested in me."

"Yeah, you pretty much figured it-" Emma trails, "so wait…you're actually interested in Orwen?" She asks, trying her best not to show how very not okay she is with that, but apparently not good enough because Regina catches on.

"Oh, sorry. Do you guys have a thing? I just assumed that he was single and didn't think-."

"-No, no. He's single," Emma grits out, "and I'm sorry that you got me instead."

Regina eyes Emma suspiciously, but then dismisses the idea. "It's alright," she says, "I won't cry a river over it. I'm getting older, and my mother keeps pestering me to get married. I swear sometimes she just forgets that she has another daughter."

"Yeah," Emma says. "I suppose all mothers are like that. Mine's pretty much the same, except I'm not in my twenties any more."

"You're not?" Regina says, her lips forming into a grin.

"I'm not. Why? How old do you think I am?"

"Hmm," Regina says, seeming to think about it. She knows what she wants to say, but maybe it's a bit rude to joke around when she doesn't even know Emma that well. "I thought you were in your early forties…maybe 42?"

The look on Emma's face is priceless, and Regina can't help herself from snorting once, then full-on laughing as loudly as she could. A couple of kids rush outside, and start laughing at the way their Ms is holding onto her stomach like it's about to fall off.

Emma tsks, "honestly. Your still evil." Regina doesn't hear her, and Emma tries her best not to laugh as well. Regina just looks too pure and innocent, and she looks like she's having the fun of her life. A smile smile forms on the blonde's face, and she allows the brunette to sit back down next to her, and calm herself down.

"Kids these day," Emma says, shaking her head.

"I'm sorry," Regina says. "It's just your face looked so funny."

"And so shameful, too." Emma continues, "poor Cora."

"Who's Cora?" Regina asks.

"Your mom," Emma answers in her most duh-tone. But then she catches herself, and looks up at Regina with worried eyes. That's the first time she let anything slip from their past lives. She holds her breath in, sacred that Regina, somehow, will found her out. She tries to think of a cover-up lie, but nothing comes to mind.

_Well, Shit!_

"Who told you her name is Cora?"

Emma flinches, "didn't you just say 'my mom Cora' when you told me about your mom?"

"I did?" Regina says in wonder, thinking back on her words. But she finds that no, she didn't say Cora. Why would she say Cora, when her mother's name is actually Mary Margaret. "But that's not my mother's name, so I'm sure I didn't say Cora."

"Oh," Emma says. "Then I must have heard wrong."

"You're silly," Regina smiles.

* * *

A/N: Thank you for reading :D How about Mary Margaret being Regina's mom? xD LOL

Mysterio-lady: I think it's totally doable. I mean I once had to cover for my friend's shift, and that was almost like 8 hours including mine, and I'm pretty sure I was standing for the majority of those hours. Maybe I'm a bit exaggerating, though. xD

Ricmantic: Cassie is based on my sister. My sister is really that dense. Lol...xD


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own OUaT.

NOTE: Thank you for reading. Mwah! :)

* * *

Again, And Then Again.

Ch5: Birds of Feather, Flock Together.

Orwen meets her by the door, and he's a bit too excited for a man his age. "Sooo?" He asks his boss, and Emma gives him a look that says 'we'll talk about this later. Perhaps when we're behind closes doors?', but her friend wouldn't have it. "Tell me what happened, or you won't get my signature."

"Hell, no. You promised, Oreo. Don't back out now, you big wuss!"

"I said you needed to go in my place, and…AND tell me what happened afterwards. That's the only way you'll earn one of these." He takes out a piece of paper, much like the one he'd thrown in her face a few days ago, and taunts her with his brows.

"Fine," Emma grits out, "over here." She yanks at his elbow, and guides him away from curious eyes. Just around the corner from their work place, she sits down on a bench, making sure it wasn't too dirty for her.

"So?"

"Well, she's…different here."

"Different how?"

"I don't know, just different…almost like they're not the same, but share the same face and name…you know?" She looks at him, and sighs. It doesn't make sense to her. Nothing does right now, and she just wishes her life would go back to being as simple as 'pick em, fuck em, and bolt', but life is not as generous as she want it to be.

"Okay…what about your son?"

"He's not with her, no.." Emma says, and Orwen catches the sadness in her eyes before a mask of indifference takes its place.

He wants to know more, but he also doesn't want to push her too much. He'd never seen her like this before, and it's making him feel unsettled because Emma's the most irritatingly confident, bordering on arrogance, woman he had ever knows. With the crazy idea of reincarnation, and the way she's biting on her lower lip at the moment, Orwen decides to give it one more try, before he forgets the whole idea about setting Emma up with Regina.

"Did she ask about me?"

Emma jumps a little at the question, "who?" She asks, stalling for time.

"Regina, who else?"

"I think you might have came up, yes. She knows Mollie is not your sister, though. Kinda figured that out right off the bat." She giggles, and she thinks back to her encounter with Regina and how the brunette seemed to have taking a liking to the young girl.

"God, did you tell her?"

"No, it was Mollie. Well, Mollie didn't tell her-tell her. Her tongue just slipped, and well…" She shrugged. "Sorry, buddy. You missed your chance with Regina."

Orwen nods, oblivious to the fact that Regina did ask about him, and to the fact that she was really interested in him. "I guess you earned this." He takes out the piece of paper from his pocket, and hands it to her. "My signature."

"Sweet," Emma says, slipping the paper in her laptop case. "Next time I need something from you, you better prepare yourself."

"Yeah, yeah…" Orwen says, knowing full well that Emma would probably use it to make him break up with one of her future bed-mates. If there's one thing Emma can't say no to, is when a woman cries; an attractive woman cries in front of her, and she's left there in the most awkward situation ever.

When Orwen goes home after work, he takes out his phone, and instead of texting Regina like he'd been doing, he calls her. He really wants to make Emma smile as wide, and as sincerely as he'd seen her smile when she took him to meet (stalk) Regina.

"Hello, Orwen," Regina answers in an even tone.

"Regina," Orwen says, smiling against his phone. He hears rustling going on at the other end of the line. "I didn't interrupt anything, did I?" It's a few minutes past 8, and though it's not that early, he can't help but feel like it's a bit inappropriate.

"I'm marking papers, and because the children wrote too many poems…I have to arrange a second dress-up party in two weeks."

"Oh, sorry. I'll call later."

"No, I'm just saying that it was a success. The party, I mean."

"Oh…well, congratulations."

Regina sighs, "…what do you want, Orwen? I mean at first, I thought you were interested. Then I find out that you're not…then this."

_Well, I'll be damned! She IS interested in me! _

But this is not what he wants. Don't get him wrong, Regina is a beautiful woman, and she seems like a nice person, but he's not willing to lose what he has with Emma over a woman. His fascination with Regina had died the day they met when Emma's apparent interest battled with that fascination and beat it to the ground.

"I don't have many friends, and so I really don't know how one would go around making those…" He tells her; and it's not all lies. Aside from Emma, the only female friend he ever has, Orwen doesn't have any other female friends.

"Oh," Regina says, and it's not disappointment that Orwen hears in her tone, it's realization and possibly a touch of pity. "Do you want to be friends with me?" She asks, and now Orwen can make out the clear surprise in her voice.

"Is that too shocking?"

"Ah, no, no….to be honest, I don't have many male friends. They always seem to…" She trails.

"Ask you out? Fall in love with you? Rain on your parade?" Orwen supplies, and Regina laughs.

"Well, this is not embarrassing at all. But I suppose that it did happen before…"

"Mmm," Orwen smiles. "I know what you mean. I've had it happen to me before, too. Hey, we have something in common already."

Regina chuckles, "I suppose we do."

"So," Orwen says after a pause. "Would you maybe want to hang out with me and Emma tomorrow morning?"

"What's tomorrow morning?"

"I usually invade Emma's apartment, and force her to go on a run with me. She's a bit of a lazy ass and doesn't realize that once she hits her forties, it's all spiraling-down afterwards."

"Why?" Regina asks in awe. "She's actually forty? I was only joking."

"What?" Orwen says, "you asked her how old she was?"

"Ummm…"

Orwen laughs then, not really containing his laughter or attempting to stop himself. After a few moments of pure amusement, Orwen asks Regina to meet them up at the park, and told her to bring over some of her work so she wouldn't feel like she's falling behind.

* * *

Emma can see her sneaker's shoe laces are loose, but she figures if she walks very slowly, she won't get them to undo. There are many reasons why she doesn't want to bend down, and just tighten them. First, there's someone clearly following her, and judging from the footsteps, it's not Orwen. She's not feeling any danger, though, so she's keeping her strides medium, and saving up her energy to when danger really does smack her in the head.

Secondly, she wants cake. Like really, truly, wants cake. Like if she closes her eyes right now, an image of a giant-ass cake would appear before her, and she would most definitely drool all over her face.

She wants cake like she's running low on fuel, and the only thing that would fill up her tank is cake. Okay, she did not intent for that to sound this dirty.

Suddenly! "Damn you San Francisco!" Emma yells, and it's for her, the dogs, and her fellow joggers.

A woman sprints ahead, and gives Emma a look. Emma shrugs, "hey, yeah, damns hills, right?" But the woman just rolls her eyes, and walks away. "Well, fuck you, too." Emma murmurs.

"You talkin' to me? You talkin' to me!?" A voice sounds from behind Emma, and if Emma hadn't heard that voice for two life times now, she would have been using up that energy to run from danger.

"Unagi!" Emma yells as she turns around, striking a silly pause, and Regina just full-on laughs; laughs to the point where her eyes are teary, and her voice is gone.

When she's calmed down, "you know Ross doesn't say Unagi when he attacks, right?"

"What?" Emma says, "yeah, you're right, he doesn't. He says-"

"-Danger." Regina finishes for her, and Emma just stare at the brunette in awe. "What?" Regina asks, "what's wrong? He does say 'danger' when attacks."

Emma takes one final look at Regina, and then shakes her head. Regina's definitely very different than mayor Mills from back home. Back home? When did Storybrooke suddenly become her home?

"Nothing, it's just…" Emma narrows her eyes, "you're a bit of a nerd, aren't you? I mean your voice sounded nowhere near Robert Dinero's, but you know your shit."

Regina's eyes widen, "come on, language, dear." And them Emma is staring again, but Regina just shakes it off. "And just because I know a few lines here and there, doesn't mean that I spend my weekends watching t.v while I pet my dog. Stereotyping much?"

"It is what you do, isn't it? You spend your time on Netflix and stuff."

"If you say so," Regina shrugs, and starts walking away.

"Come on, tell the truth." She says, following Regina to the park.

Regina looks next to her, "you can't handle the truth." She winks, and then sprints ahead. And Emma is, once again, left staring at Regina, but for a completely different reason. It has to do with yoga pants, and a pair of excellent, tight, perfectly rounded, jaw-dropping…

"HEY!" Orwen smacks the back of her head. "Oh, it's alive! It's alive!" He yells when Emma finally snaps out of it, and turns to face him. "Do you know how disgusting you look with your mouth hanging open, and drool sliding down you chin!?" He shakes his head disapprovingly, and follows behind Regina.

Emma takes her time, pouting as she feels both Orwen and Regina had somehow teamed up against her; and they've only known each other for a few days. She sighs then, wondering if being associated with Regina is worth the hassle. Her presence in Emma's life alone is making something inside the blonde stir, and the older woman is not sure she wants her life to be stirred. What happened to her simple life? Will she ever have it back?

She sighs again, and starts walking slowly to the pair. When she sees them munching on what appears to be...

"Cake...?" Oh, hell, no! If anyone's entitled to eat cake, it's definitely her. She takes off in a sprint then, but a few meters in, she trips on her shoe laces, falls hard on her face, and stays rooted on her spot as she groans out in pain.

_Well, shit! _


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own OUaT.

Note: Thank you for reading, MWAH! ;)

* * *

Again, And Then Again

Chapter 5: Herbal Tea.

They're at Regina's flat at the moment. Emma is in the bathroom, hiding behind layers of blushing. In all her life, she thinks she's never been this embarrassed to be a woman. Well, not precisely the 'being a woman' part, but the fact that now she knows why she's been craving cake lately. Orwen, the good friend that he is, had left them to their devices while Emma gathered her shit together and had accepted Regina's offer to go back to her place for a change of clothes.

"You okay in there?" Regina asks, leaning against the door to listen in. She's almost sure from the lack of sounds, that if she opens the door she'd find the blonde sprawled and fast asleep. Then again, a child did point at Emma's bottom and scream: "blood! Blood!" So perhaps she does need a moment, or a few.

"Yeah," Emma says nonchalantly. "I'll be out in a minute."

Regina nods, then remembers that Emma can't quite see her, "well, if you need something just call for me. I'll be in the kitchen."

Regina's flat is not as tiny as people think it is, but given the nature of its openness that everything seems to merge together. The bedroom, the kitchen and the living room area is all connected. In one corner, there's a tub separated from everything else with a partition. The only place where Regina seems to have privacy in her flat, is inside the her bathroom.

Taking out a small pot, Regina opts to make some tea. If it were her she would prefer warm milk over anything else, but Regina knows that milk is not for everyone and especially not for those who are above thirty. She sighs as she rummages through the top shelf, and taking out a sugar cube and the herbal tea bag. The water starts bubbling, so Regina pours some inside her transparent tea pot, and places the teabag inside.

"Regina?" She hears Emma call her, and she's at the door in two long strides.

"Emma?"

"…Uhh..can you do me a favour?

"Sure," Regina says, "what do you need?"

"…um, well…I need for you to not be out there when I get out. I know that it's your flat and all, but please…just hide so I don't feel like shit when I-"

Regina cuts her in, "-sure." She says confidently and nods to herself as she continues to stand next to the door.

"Thank you!" Emma yells, and Regina says nothing. After 2 minutes or so, Emma opens the door as quietly as she could but jumps back when she sees Regina standing right outside. "Jesus Christ!" She yelps, holding out her hands to defend herself and then pressing a hand to her heart. "You scared the shit outta me!"

Regina just laughs, eying her own yoga pants and t-shirt, both articles hugging Emma's body like it's her second skin. "I'm sorry," she says, "but that's the only clean yoga and shirt that I have right now, and they're small."

Emma glares at her. _This child still uses small, medium and large as a means to measure_, she thinks. _I don't even want to know what time she goes to bed. "_They're not that bad…I can still breathe." Emma rolls her eyes, and holds her purse against her abdomen. She was gonna say she must have been an evil person in her past life to get such bad luck, but she knows for a fact that she was a damn savior.

Regina just keeps chuckling until her laughs subsides. She moves to the kitchen counter, pours a cup of tea, and moves back to stand next to Emma. "Here, it's herbal tea." Emma eyes the cup, thinking back to when Regina first offered her apple pie, but then decides that she's just being crazy. This Regina is different. This one is not a murderer, or at least not that she knows.

"Thanks," Emma says, and just as she's about to take a sip, her cell sounds. "Shit," she says, "must be the office or something. I swear they hire inexperienced children in their early twenties and they expect me train them like some sort of magician." Seeing who it is calling her, Emma's face changes colours. "Shit," she murmurs under her breath. "I have to take this," she tells Regina, turning back around and answering the phone.

"Hey, hey, hey-" Emma says into the receiver.

"Don't 'hey' me, Emma. If you don't know my name, just ask."

"Okay…" Emma says. "What's your name pretty girl?"

"It's Monica, and just out of curiosity, what did you have me on your phone?"

Emma chuckles, "I had you as Monica, of course."

"Uh-huh," Monica says, "well, I had you as 'Emma the playa.'"

"What the hell?" the blonde is genuinely offended by this. "I'm not a player, thank you very much. And if you must know, I had you as 'pretty woman'" Emma tells her, but doesn't disclose the information that she's 'pretty woman #23' nor is she planning to. "Anyway, what do you want?"

"Are you free right now?"

"Ah," Emma says, "who's the player now?"

"Do have some time or not?"

Emma turns to face the brunette who's sitting on the sofa now. "That depends…what do you have in mind?"

"Well, if I have to tell you what I have in mind, then maybe I should call someone else, Emma the playa."

Emma shakes her head, biting on her lower lip. Not only does she has her period, but she also wants to stay and brood more out of Regina. There's a good chance that the brunette knows something. But then again, if Emma says no this one time, what if Emma calls Monica on another and the younger woman decides to say 'no.'

"Emma?"

"Sorry, I can't." Emma finally says, "it's not a good time, but maybe some other time, love, alright?"

Monica sighs, "well, that's a shame. We needed a three to our some." Emma clenches her hands into fists. _Mother. Fucking. Period. _

Regina looks up from her cup when she feels the sofa dip next to her, "everything okay at the office?"

Emma looks at her, and shakes her head. "You know that's not the office."

"Well, everything okay with Monica, your pretty woman whom you couldn't recall her name?"

"Ouch!" Emma says, "don't judge." You were sleeping with Graham, and we're not that close for you to be joking.

"Sorry," Regina says. "I was just teasing you, Emma the playa."

"Jeez…just forget everything you heard, Regina, and did your momma ever teach you not to eavesdrop."

"Technically, I'm not eavesdropping, and my mother did teach me well. I probably have the best mother out of everyone I know. I never had to buy any groceries my entire life. She would come once every 10 days and restock my fridge."

"Well, aren't you a lucky girl." Emma takes another sip, and she can feel her stomach calm down with the hot liquid. "Let me guess, you're an only child?"

Regina laughs, "no. I have a brother and a sister."

"Well, you must be the youngest."

"That doesn't mean my mother doesn't treat Johnny and Ree the same. She loves us all the same."

Emma just glares for a few seconds, and then shakes her head. "How old is Johnny and Ree?"

Regina tilts her head upward, thinking about her sibling's ages. "Well, Johnny is older, but not by much, just by 3 years he's 27, then there's me, and Ree is turning Fourteen in a few months. She wasn't exactly planned, but my parents went crazy when they found out they were pregnant."

Emma smiles. She already loves seeing Regina smile and be a normal person. She thinks maybe the brunette is finally in a world where she knows how to love and not like her former self where she used to cast spells so people would find it in them to tolerate her. "Sounds like a crowd," she says, and Regina knows she means it in a good way.

"Yeah," she says, standing up and moving to the kitchen counter. "Refill?" She asks, and Emma nods.

Emma walks back to her apartment around lunch time. She'd spent more than 3 hours simply chatting with Regina, and once she realized what time it had been, she internally freaked out from how much she'd enjoyed her visit to Regina's place. But now that she thinks about it as she cradles a cup of tea with both her hands, she doesn't quite know why she left so abruptly.

She takes out her cell then, and texts Orwen:

**Hey, need to talk. Can you come over?**

Orwen's reply is a short 'no', but Emma knows that when he says 'no' to her, that he really can't make it. Because if a world war were to begin one day, and Emma needed Orwen's help to dig her from under a collapsed building that he would come through for her. But there are certain things that she knows Orwen puts before her. Certain things she would like very much that her friend would find it in himself to get over, but knows she doesn't have the right to tell him that.

**Alright, call me if you need anything. **

Emma puts the herbal tea that Regina gave her on the kitchen counter, and goes to take a shower. For once, it takes her just a few minutes to clean up and find her way to her home phone. When the pizza delivery guy knocks on her door, Emma is already waiting for him. She pays him, tells him to keep the change, then goes to sit on the sofa.

After she devours a few pizza slices, she turns on the t.v and watches as a handsome man chops and cooks food, and by the end of the episode, she decides that Hannibal is her new favorite show. Nothing else is interesting on t.v, so she moves to her laptop and looks up the show she'd just watched.

A few episodes in, Emma decides not to ever watch that show again. But she can't help but feel hungry, so she finishes the rest of the pizza; cold accompanied with warm beer.

By the time it's 7 p.m, Emma is bored and lying on her bed and staring at the ceiling. She doesn't recall ever being this bored. What did she ever do on her days off? She knows that Orwen usually would come over, but she certainly has other things to do to keep her entertained. _Pretty girls, of course_. She goes to the living room, grabs her cell, then goes back to her room.

Lying on the bed, she chooses a random number without looking, and clicks on call. When the call goes through, she glances at the screen: beautiful girl 17. She cringes, and hangs up. Beautiful girl 17 is actually just a girl who's about to turn 19 in a few months. Those young girls are not good for a fun, one night stand.

Looking through her contacts, she realizes that most these women won't go through with it if Emma has her period. They would want to touch her, and she would tell them 'no' and then they'd realize that she's just using them, which is the reason for one night stands, but somehow women are more sensitive to the truth when it's thrown in their faces.

She sighs, and flops down on her bed. Nothing to do, and no one to do nothing with; Emma falls asleep at 8 p.m, sauce on the corners of her mouth and fingertips, and a full pot of herbal tea sitting on the stove.


End file.
